Rigor means different things to different people. Some people think rigor and rigidity are the same. In this case, academic rigor might look like teacher inflexibility — an "it's my way or the highway" kind of attitude. Some people think rigor and harshness are the same. In this case, academic rigor might mean that student work is an endurance test and only a predetermined number of students can receive high grades. Neither of these views of rigor matches the MMSD understanding of rigor in an academic setting.

The MMSD Educational Framework describes three characteristics of rigor in an academic setting:

• Commitment to a core of subject matter knowledge — We want students to be good thinkers. To be good thinkers they need to have rich background of knowledge and concepts to think about. The MMSD Grade Level Standards state the knowledge and conceptual understandings important for all students.
• High demand for thinking — The work students do should push them to think — to pose and solve problems, to make predictions and generalizations and justify them, and to reflect about their thinking.
• Active use of knowledge — Students will remember what they learn if they have to do the mental work of making sense of what they are learning and they have an opportunity to share this learning.

Common sense and research tell us that if we expect more of students — and provide them with support to be successful — they learn more. To have a rigorous academic program, we do not need to expect students to do more work. We need to expect them to do higher quality and more thoughtful work. Work with the above characteristics of academic rigor will help all students achieve at higher levels.